k-.X 


421 
.ifilCQY 


UC-NRLF 


klOtOGY  -UHUfttf 


SEA-SICKNESS. 


BY        x 

FORDYCE  BARKER,  M.  D., 

CLINICAL  PROFESSOR  OF  MIDWIFERY  AND  -DISEASES  OF  WOMEN, 

IN  THE  BELLEVTJE  HOSPITAL  MEDICAL  COLLEGE, 

•  ETC.,  ETC. 


NEW  YORK: 

D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  90,  92  &  94  GRAND  ST. 

LONDON:    TRUBNER  &  CO. 

PARIS:   J.  B.  BAILLIERE. 

1870. 


EXTBKED,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1870,  by 

P.  APPLETON  &  COMPANY, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern 
District  of  New  York. 


PUBLISHEKS'  NOTICE. 


THE  following  paper  first  appeared  in 
the  NEW  YORK  MEDICAL  JOURNAL  of 
November,  1868.  As  there  has  been  a 
great  demand  for  this  number  of  the  Jour- 
nal, the  publishers  have  requested  the  au- 
thor to  add  such  prescriptions  as  he  has 
found  useful  in  relieving  the  suffering 
from  sea-sickness,  and  now  offer  the  paper 
in  the  present  form. 

NEW  YORK,  June,  1870. 


OST  SEA-SICKNESS. 


IF  we  consider  the  number  of  persons 
who,  either  for  pleasure  or  business  pur- 
poses, cross  the  Atlantic,  the  many  con- 
stantly going  to  and  returning  from  Cali- 
fornia and  other  parts  of  the  Pacific  coast — 
if  we  estimate  the  number  on  the  steamers 
which  run  between  our  Northern  and  our 
Southern  ports  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  on 
our  Western  lakes,  I  think  the  statement 
will  readily  be  accepted,  that  there  are  few 
maladies  which  produce  such  an  aggregate 
of  human  suffering  as  sea-sickness.  And  yet 
it  may  be  said,  that  there  is  no  malady  which 
the  medical  profession  has  done  so  little  to 
relieve,  and  none  for  which  it  is  so  seldom 
consulted. 


6  ON   SEA-SICKNESS. 

There  are  several  popular  errors  in  re- 
gard to  this  malady,  which  are  current 
with  the  profession  as  well  as  with  the  pub- 
lic, and  which  account,  in  some  measure,  for 
the  statement  just  made.  For  example,  I 
find  the  belief  very  general — 

1.  That  sea-sickness  is  often  beneficial, 
and  that  it  is  never  permanently  injurious. 
Now,  I  have  never  been  able  to  convince 
myself  that  any  one  was  really  benefited  by 
the  sea-sickness,  but  the  improvement  in 
health  from  a  sea-voyage  is,  as  a  general 
rule,  proportioned  to  the  freedom  from  sea- 
sickness. I  have  known  many  persons  who 
have  taken  a  sea-voyage  for  health,  and,  be- 
lieving that  the  benefit  they  were  to  receive 
from  the  voyage  would  be  in  a  ratio  with 
the  amount  of  bile  vomited,  they  have  been 
greatly  disappointed  because  they  were  not 
sea-sick.  In  many  instances  I  have  known 
serious  and  permanent  injury  to  result  from 
sea-sickness.  A  gentleman  in  this  city, 
whose  business  as  an  importer  obliged  him 


ON   SEA-SICKNESS.  7 

to  visit  Europe  every  spring  and  autumn, 
lias  been  completely  broken  down  from  the 
effects  of  a  ten  days'  sea-sickness  four  times 
a  year.  After  the  violent  sickness  and 
vomitins  have  ceased,  because  of  the  arrival 

o  / 

on  land,  the  stomach  has  remained  greatly 
disordered,  and  a  long  time  has  been  re- 
quired for  the  restoration  of  its  tone  and 
digestive  power.  My  advice  has  been  fre- 
quently given  in  strong  and  decided  terms, 
to  those  of  depressed  vital  powers,  with  im- 
paired and  feeble  digestion,  whose  past  ex- 
perience has  demonstrated  an  innate  liabil- 
ity to  sea-sickness,  to  avoid  the  exposure  to 
such  a  hazard. 

Some  twenty-five  years  since,  I  crossed 
the  Atlantic  in  the  packet-ship  St.  Nicholas. 
We  were  eighteen  days  from  Sandy  Hook 
to  Havre,  having  two  or  three  days  of  severe 
weather,  but,  on  the  whole,  a  very  pleasant 
passage.  One'  very  corpulent  gentleman, 
who  was  in  perfect  health  when  we  left  the 
Hook,  was  incessantly  sick  during  the  whole 


8  ON   SEA-SICKNESS. 

passage.  He  was  wholly  unable  to  retain 
any  thing  except  the  smallest  bit  of  sea- 
biscuit,  soaked  in  wine  or  brandy ;  and  I  do 
not  believe  that,  during  the  whole  voyage, 
the  aggregate  of  all  he  swallowed  woulc" 
amount  to  a  half-dozen  sea-biscuits.  It  ma? 
well  be  supposed  that,  on  our  arrival  a 
Havre,  he  was  extremely  prostrated  am 
excessively  emaciated.  I  was  called  up  tc 
see  him,  the  second  night  after  landing,  afc 
he  was  delirious  and  had  attempted  to  com- 
mit suicide.  It  was  many  days  before  he 
recovered  the  capacity  for  retaining  and  di- 
gesting food.  While  crossing  the  Atlantic 
in  1861, 1  was  asked  by  the  surgeon  of  the 
steamer  to  see  a  gentleman  whom  sea-sick- 
ness had  reduced  to  a  most  dangerous  state 
of  prostration  and  exhaustion.  This  gentle- 
man was  obliged  to  remain  in  ^Liverpool  two 
weeks  before  he  sufficiently  recovered  from 
the  effects  of  the  sickness  to  be  able  to  leave 
for  London. 

2.  Another  popular  error  is,  that   sea- 


ON  SEA-SICKNESS.  V 

sickness  is  never  dangerous , to  life.  It  does 
not  often  result  fatally,  but  I  suspect  that 
the  number  of  deaths  from  this  cause  is 
greater  than  is  generally  supposed,  for  three 
have  occurred  within  my  personal  knowl- 
edge. The  first  was  a  young  physician,  of 
decided  talent  and  promise,  who  had  at  one 
time  been  a  pupil  of  mine.  Feeling  himself 
somewhat  run  down  by  overwork,  he  thought 
to  improve  his  health  by  taking  a  vacation 
of  a  few  weeks  in  an  excursion  to  the  fishing- 
banks  of  Newfoundland.  He  was  absent 
nearly  four  weeks,  during  which  time  he 
was  absolutely  unable  to  retain  any  thing 
on  his  stomach,  and  he  died,  delirious  and 
exhausted  from  starvation,  two  days  after 
landing.  The  second  case  was  a  young 
lady,  who  was  to  have  been  married  im- 
mediately after  her  arrival  here,  but  who 
died  on  the  passage  between  Havre  and 
ISTew  York.  Dr.  A.  H.  Smith,  the  surgeon 
of  the  steamer,  told  me  that  he  could  find 
no  other  cause  for  death  than  the  exhaustion 


10  ON   SEA-SICKNESS. 

from  sea-sickness.     The  third  case,  whicl 
saw  in  consultation  with  the  late  Dr.  Pra. 
of  this  city,  was  a  young  man  twenty-t\ 
years  of  age,  represented  to  have  been  pf 
fectly  healthy,  who,  in  a  rough  passage  < 
sixteen  days  from  Liverpool,  had  been  who! 
unable  to  retain  any  thing  on  his  stomac 
This  condition  continued  after  landing,  an 
he  died  on  the  fourth  day  after  his  arrival 
Dr.  Pratt,  who  had  a  very  large  hotel  prac 
tice,  told  me  at  this  time  that  he  had  known 
of  three  other  deaths  from  this  cause. 

3.  The  belief  is  very  general,  both  in 
and  out  of  the  profession,  that  the  medi- 
cal art  is  powerless  for  the  mitigation, 
relief,  or  cure  of  this  malady.  It  is  true 
that  there  are  no  specific  drugs  which  will 
cure  or  even  prevent  sea-sickness.  It  is 
often  and  truly  said,  that  the  land  is  the 
only  cure  ;  but  I  believe  that  every  phy- 
sician ought  to  be  competent  to  give  such 
good,  sensible  advice  as  will  greatly  con- 
tribute to  diminish  the  tendency  to  this  mal- 


02T   SEA-SICKNESa. 

ady,  and  to  mitigate  and  relieve  the  su 
ing  and  evil  resulting  from  it.  Having 
crossed  the  Atlantic  many  times,  and,  of 
course,  having  experienced  all  sorts  of 
weather,  from  the  most  perfect  calm  to  the 
most  violent  storm,  not  only  on  the  Atlan- 
tic, bu-  on  the  Mediterranean  and  the  Eng- 
lish and  Irish  Channels,  I  have  had  the 
^opportunity  of  studying  sea-sickness  in  all 
its  different  phases.  Being  myself  exempt 
from  the  slightest  tendency  to  this  affliction, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  feeling  at  sea,  particu- 
arly  when  it  is  somewhat  rough,  an  ex- 
hilaration of  mind  and  an  elasticity  and 
vigor  of  body  which  I  do  not  feel  on  shore, 
I  have  been  in  the  best  possible  condition 
for  studying  the  disease  objectively.  I  am 
not  sure  that  it  can  be  called  a  disease,  in 
the  proper  sense  of  the  word,  for  the  pheno- 
mena constituting  sea-sickness  are  purely 
physical.  It  is  not  confined  to  the  human 
race,  as  animals  also  are  subject  to  the  same 
malady.  I  have  often  noticed,  with  great 


i\ 


*d    SEA-SICKSTESS. 

,u,  its  effect  on  dogs,  and  that  during 
jiigh  weather  they  intuitively    seek    the 
centre  of  the  ship.     The  same  law  of  in-^ 
dividual  susceptibility  and  exemption  from 
this   affection   exists  in   animals  as  in  the 
human  race.     In  returning  from  Newport,  a 
few  years  ago,  the  sea  was  very  rough  in 
coming  round  Point  Judith.     My  coachman 
came  to  me  in  great  trouble,  telling  me  that^ 
one  of  my  horses  was  dying.     I  found  the-, 
horse  lying  down,  wet  with  a  cold  sweat, 
and  groaning  piteously.     As   he  was   pei 
fectly  well  before   leaving    Newport,   an 
lively  enough  after  we  landed  here,  it  wa 
evident  that  his  whole  suffering  was  due  U 
sea-sickness.     The  other  horse  did  not  seen: 
to  be  disturbed  in  the  slightest  degree. 

I  am  unable  to  say  to  what  extent  the 
feathered  race  are  susceptible  to  this  mal- 
ady, but  I  once  had  the  opportunity  of  ob- 
serving, on  the  Mediterranean,  that  fowls 
are  not  exempt  "  from  the  ills  that  flesh  is 
heir  to."  One  beautiful  morning  in  June  I 


O^   SEA-SICKNESS.  13 

was  on  a  small  steamer  going  from  Leghorn 
to  Genoa.  There  was  a  short,  chopping  sea, 
very  trying  for  those  of  delicate  susceptibil- 
ities, and  I  was  the  only  passenger  up  and 
on  deck.  I  observed  on  the  forward-deck, 
near  the  bow,  a  coop,  containing  fifteen  or 
twenty  hens  and  two  cocks,  in  watching 
which  I  became  greatly  interested  and  in- 
tensely amused.  Most  of  the  hens  exhibited 
unmistakable  evidence  that  they  were  neither 
comfortable  nor  happy.  One  of  the  cocks 
<tood,  balancing  himself  with  difficulty,  with 
"!iead,  tail,  and  wings  drooping,  and  winking 
vith  a  decidedly  sea-sick  expression.  While 
watching  him  with  sympathy,  his  fellow 
gave  an  exultant  crow,  and  immediately 
Deceived  from  his  mate  a  spiteful  peck  on 
as  comb.  A  few  moments  after  the  crow 
was  repeated,  but-  this  time  his  sick  mate 
;ould  only  express  his  disgust  and  reproach 
_>y  languid  winks.  I  had  the  curiosity  to 
watch  the  coop  after  it  was  landed,  and 
.bund  all  the  inmates  restored  to  their  nor- 
aal  liveliness. 


14  ON   SEA-SICKNESS. 

Sea-sickness  is  manifested  by  a  great 
diversity  of  svmptoms  in  different  individu- 
als. Some  suffer  only  from  headache  and  a 
constant  feeling  of  stricture  across  the  fore- 
head and  over  the  temples,  during  the  whole... 
voyage,  while  they  are  free  from  nausea  and 
vomiting.  Others  do  not  suffer  much  from  . 
nausea,  but  are  suddenly  seized  with  vomit- 
ing, and,  after  the  contents  of  the  stomach 
are  discharged,  they  are  free  from  all  un- 
pleasant sensations  until  the  next  recurrence 
of  vomiting.  With  many,  the  nausea  and 
vomiting  entirely  disappear  after  being  at 
sea  for  a  few  days.  Others  again  are  so  un- 
fortunate as  to  suffer  from  all  these  symp- 
toms during  the  whole  time  they  are  at  sea, 
whether  the  voyage  be  short  or  long. 
There  are  some  who  never  can  become  habit- 
uated to  the  sea.  I  have  been  told  by  some 
naval  officers,  that  they  were  always  sick  in 
rough  weather,  and  I  know  that  this  is  the 
case  with  two  captains  of  Atlantic  steamers. 
"With  some  the  suffering  produced  by  sea- 


ON  SEA-SICKNESS.  15 

sickness  can  hardly  be  painted  by  words. 
I  am  sure  that  no  personal  inducement 
would  be  strong  enough  to  tempt  rne  to 
cross  the  Atlantic,  if  I  were  obliged  to  en- 
dure the  terrible  suffering  that  I  have  wit- 
nessed in  most  voyages  that  I  have  made. 
There  is  often  a  great  change  in  the  same 
individual,  in  the  course  of  life,  as  to  the 
susceptibility  to  this  malady.  Some,  who 
in  early  life  have  been  martyrs  to  sea-sick- 
ness, have  ceased  to  be  so  as  they  have 
grown  older ;  while  others,  who  have  been  so 
,  exempt  from  this  liability  that  they  have 
1  been  accustomed  to  regard  it  as  an  affection 
which  can  be  overcome  by  the  exercise  of  a 
strong  will,  have  themselves  become  most 
craven  sufferers  and  pitiable  victims.  And 
yet  it  is  curious  that  strong  mental  emotions, 
as  apprehension,  terror,  fright,  will  suddenly 
and  completely  cure  the  most  violent  sea- 
sickness. It  is  often  true,  as  is  said  in  "  Don 
Juan,"  that 

"fright  cured  the  qualms 
Of.  all  the  luckless  landsmen's  sea-sick  maws.5' 


16  OX    SEA-SICKNESS. 

I  do  not  purpose  at  this  time  to  discuss 
the  great  variety  of  theories  that  have  been 
suggested  in  explanation  of  the  cause  of  sea- 
sickness. I  will  only  observe  that  it  seems 
to  be  due  to  the  sudden  and  recurring 
changes  of  the  relations  of  the  fluids  to  the 
solids  of  the  body,  and  the  nervous  disturb- 
ances which  result  from  these  changes.  The 
liquids  contained  in  their  vessels,  as  well  as 
the  solids  of  the  economy,  obey  equally  the 
laws  of  gravitation,  when  the  body  is  sub- 
jected to  alternate  movements  of  ascent  and 
descent  like  those  which  are  caused  by  the^ 
swing  or  by  the  waves  of  the  sea.  The'j 
blood,  by  its  fluidity,  yields  more  readily  to  \ 
the  influence  of  descent,  and  less  easily  than 
the  solids  to  the  ascending  impulse.  Con- 
sequently, it  does  not  return  to  the  brain 
with  the  same  regularity  as  in  the  case 
where  the  body  remains  stable,  and  leaves 
it  more  rapidly  in  the  movement  of  descent. 
There  result,  as  to  the  circulation,  alterna- 
tions of  afflux  and  delay  in  the  arrival  of 


ON    SEA-SICKXES3.  IT 

the  blood  to  the  different  organs  of  the 
body,  which  disturb  their  functions,  and 
those  of  the  brain  especially,  analogous  to 
that  which  follows  the  loss  of  blood,  in  some 
persons  who  are  nauseated  and  vomit  after 
venesection.  This  disturbance  of  function 
is  more  or  less  pronounced  according  to  the 
susceptibility  of  each  individual,  and  in  most 
persons  it  is  overcome  in  a  great  measure 
by  a  habitude  to  a  repetition  of  the  causes. 
No  sensible  physician  would  therefore  ex- 
pect to  cure  sea-sickness  by  medication  ad- 
dressed to  the  stomach,  or  even  by  drugs 
which  are  supposed  to  act  directly  on  the 
brain  and  its  functions.  The  horizontal 
position,  which,  to  a  certain  degree,  modifies 
this  disturbance  of  function,  is  the  only  ap- 
proximation to  a  cure.  It,  however,  does 
not  follow  that  nothing  can  be  done  to  pre- 
vent or  at  least  dimmish  these  functional 
disturbances,  and  to  relieve  or  restore  the 
system  from  their  results. 

To  this  end,  it  is  of  first  importance  that 


18  ON   SEA-SICKNESS. 

all  the  conditions  which  tend  to  increase  the 
intensity  and  severity  of  the  sickness  should 
be  thoroughly  appreciated.  I  will  mention 
some  of  the  .most  common  and  prominent  of 
these  conditions: 

1.  An  exhausted  or  depressed  state  of 
the  nervous  system,  the  consequence  often 
of  loss  of  sleep,  want  of  food,  excitement,  or 
emotional  causes,  and  bad  air.  I  have  ob- 
served that  a  large  proportion  of  persons 
conie  on  board  the  Atlantic  steamers 
fatigued  and  exhausted  by  their  preparations 
for  the  voyage. .  They  have  passed  a  large 
part  of  the  previous  night  in  superintending 
the  packing  of  their  trunks  and  in  arranging 
their  affairs  for  an ,  absence  from  home,  or 
they  have  been  travelling  night  and  day  to 
reach  the  point  of  embarkation,  or  have 
badly  slept  in  an  ill- ventilated  and  strange 
room  in  a  hotel.  Then  there  is  the  excite- 
ment arising  from  separation  from  family 
and  friends,  and  the  vague,  undefined  ap- 
prehension as  to  the  perils  of  the  sea.  Of 


(Xtf    SEA-SICKNESS.  19 

course,  such,  persons  have  had  no  appetite, 
and  have  badly  digested  the  little  they  have 
eaten. 

2.  Tims  badly  prepared  to  resist  the  ef 
fects  of  sea-sickness,  they  speedily  bring  it 
on  by  keeping  up   and  staying   on   deck. 
They  have  an  indistinct  idea  that  it  is  a  kind 
of  moral  weakness,  which  they  may  conquer 
by  boldly  doing  the  very  things  to  bring  it 
on.     If  they  have  had  a  previous  experience 
of  the  malady,  it  is  not  strange  that  they 
should  dread  to  be  "  cabined,  cribbed,  con- 
fined "  in  their  badly-ventilated  berths. 

3.  In  many  the  digestive  organs   have 
been  irritated  by  their  previous  habits  of 
living,  or  by  the  action  of  cathartic  medi- 
cines which  have  been  taken  as  a  supposed 
prophylactic  against  the  sickness.     I  do  not 
mean  to   say  that   those  whose    digestive 
functions  are  feeble  and  imperfect  are  more* 
liable  to  sea-sickness   than  others;  but,  if 
the  constitutional  susceptibility  to  this  affec- 
tion exists,  they  are  less  capable  of  resisting 


20  (Xtf   SEA-SICKNESS. 

i 

its  effects,  they  suffer  more,  and  their^  recov- 
ery is  much  more  tedious.  Then,  again, 
because  bile-vomiting  is  the  result,  bile  is 
supposed  to  be  the  cause  of  the  sickness. 
"  I  expect  to  be  sick,  because  I  am  bilious," 
or  "  I  ani  never  sick,  except  when  I  am  bil- 
ious," are  remarks  which  I  often  hear.  But, 
in  reality,  the  bile  has  as  little  to  do  with 
the  sea-sickness  as  it  has  with  the  evil  con- 
sequences to  a  child  of  a  fall  down-stairs. 
In  both  the  bile-vomiting  is  not  a  cause,  but 
a  consequence,  of  .the  cerebral  perturbation. 
And  so  I  think  it  a  great  mistake  to  take 

1  cholagogue  cathartics  as  a  preparation  for  a 
voyage,  as  any  thing  that  irritates  or  dis- 
turbs the  functions  of  the  system  weakens 
the  power  of  resistance  to  the  constitutional 
susceptibility. 

I  will  briefly  allude  to  some  other  points 

"in.  connection  with  this  subject.  It  is  a  very 
prevalent  error  that  one  never  "  takes  cold  " 
at  sea.  The  fact  is  quite  the  reverse,  and 
the  exposure  to  the  causes  of  cold  is  ob- 


ON    SEA-SICKNESS.  21 

viously  greater  at  sea  than  on  land.  My 
own  experience  is,  that  it  is  very  difficult  to 
get  rid  of  a  cold  when  at  sea. 

I  am  often  consulted  in  regard  to  the 
effects  of  a  sea-voyage  and  sea-sickness  on 
menstruation  and  pregnancy.  In  former 
times,  when  emigrants  came  over  to  this 
country  in  packet-ships,  having  a  voyage  of 
from  thirty  to  sixty  days,  amenorrhcea  was 
a  very  frequent  result,  but  I  think  that  this 
was  due  rather  to  the  bad  hygienic  con- 
ditions of  the  voyage,  the  bad  air,  arid  the 
poor  and  insufficient  food  of  those  crowded 
in  the  steerage,  than  to  any  special  influence 
resulting  from  sea-air  or  sea-sicknei^.  I  am 
told  that  it  is  much  less  common  in  this 
class,  now  that  they  generally  have  much 
better  accommodations  and  much  shorter 
passages  in  the  steamers.  But  I  believe 
that  the  function  of  menstruation  is  gen- 
erally more  or  less  disturbed.  From  my  in- 
vestigations on  this  subject,  I  am  led  to 
regard  the  law  to  be,  subject,  of  course,  to 


22  ON   SEA-SICKNESS. 

numerous  exceptions,  as  follows  :  When  the 
voyage  is  commenced  near  an  approaching 
period,  it  is  brought  on  two  or  three  days 
earlier,  and  the  flow  is  more  abundant,  than 
ordinary.  But  when  the  voyage  is  com- 
menced in  the  first  half  of  the  interval  after 
a  period,  the  next  appearance  is  retarded 
and  sometimes  suppressed  for  one  or  two 
periods.  I  am  often  consulted,  both  directly 
and  by  letter,  as  to  the  safety  of  a  voyage 
during  pregnancy.  Judging  from  what  has 
been  told  me  by  patients,  I  should  infer  that 
French  physicians  generally,  and  many  of 
the  English,  regard  it  as  highly  perilous. 
ISTow,  the  same  causes  at  sea  as  011  land  will 
produce  miscarriage,  but  I  have  never 
known  of  a  case  of  abortion  from  sea- 
sickness. I  have,  however,  interrogated 
many  surgeons  of  steamers  in  regard  to 
this  point,  and  find  that  occasionally  abor- 
tion is  induced  in  pregnant  women  from  sea- 
sickness. I  have  known  several  who  were 
always  sea-sick  when  not  pregnant,  and 


ON   SEA-SICKNESS.  23 

who  were  entirely  exempt  from  it  in  a 
rough  passage  across  the  Atlantic  during 
pregnancy.  My  advice  was  sought  for  by  a 
lady  in  Paris,  who  had  four  times  suffered 
severely  from  the  sickness  of  pregnancy  up 
-to  the  end  of  the  fifth  month,  and  who  was 
excessively  sea-sick  during  the  whole  voyage 
over  to  Europe.  'She  was,  at  this  time,  in 
the  third  month  of  her  fifth  pregnancy,  and 
very  weak  from  constant  nausea,  vomiting, 
vertigo,  and  nervous  irritability.  Impera- 
tive family  reasons  required  her  return  to 
this  city,  but  her  physicians  had  told  her 
that  it  was  out  of  the  question  for  her  to 
attempt  it.  But  she  returned  in  the  same 
steamer  with  myself.  On  the  second  day 
out,  all  sickness  disappeared,  her  appetite 
returned,  and  she  arrived  here  in  a  very 
much  better  condition  than  when  she  left 
Paris. 

I  will  now  offer  a  few  suggestions  in 
regard  to  the  prevention  and  management 
of  sea-sickness,  and  the  treatment  of  its  re- 


24  GIST    SEA-SICKNESS. 

suits.  In  short  passages,  as  on  our  lakes, 
and  across  the  English  or  Irish  Channel,  all 
that  can  be  done  is  by  way  of  prevention. 
Those  liable  to  be  sick  should  make  a  good 
hearty  meal  not  more  than  two  or  three 
hours  before  going  on  board.  They  should  , 
select  a  spot  as  near  as  possible  to  the 
centre  of  the  vessel,  and  lie  down  before 
she  gets  under  weigh.  The  horizontal  po- 
sition should  be  rigidly  kept  during  the 
whole  passage.  Any  attempt  to  raise  the 
head  or  to  stand  erect  will  be  sure,  with  the 
susceptible,  to  be  followed  by  an  explosion, 
and  then  the  case  is  hopeless  for  the  re- 
mainder of  the  passage.  The  person  should 
be  well  covered,  not  only  to  protect  from 
cold,  but  to  shield  from  disagreeable  sounds, 
sights,  and  smells.  On  the  packets  on  the 
English  Channel  I  should  advise  one  not  to 
go  down  into  the  cabins  below,  where  the 
sight  of  those  lying  round,  with  basins  by 
their  heads,  is  of  itself  exceedingly  provoca- 
tive to  a  sensitive  stomach,  but  rather  to 


01ST   SEA-SICKNESS.  25 

secure,  by  telegraphing  beforehand,  one  of 
the  little  cabins  on  deck.  Although  the 
passage  may  not  be  more  than  an  hour  and 
a  half  or  two  hours,  I  have  often  seen  the 
neglect  of  the  above  suggestions  to  be  fol- 
lowed by  very  severe  punishment. 

For  ocean  passages  one  of  the  most 
essential  points  is  the  selection  of  the  state- 
room as  regards  position,  light,  size,  and 
ventilation.  Of  course,  the  nearer  the  room 
is  to  the  centre  of  the  ship,  the  less  will  be 
the  motion.  In  going  to  Europe,  it  is  better 
to  be  on  the  starboard  side,  and  in  return- 
ing, on  the  port  side,  which  will  be  the 
sunny  side.  Rooms  near  the  furnaces  are 
objectionable,  not  only  on  account  of  the 
heat,  which  is  sometimes  very  disagreeable, 
but  also  from  the  noise,  which,  at  certain 
hours,  is  made  by  the  donkey-engine  in 
drawing  up  the  ashes  and  cinders,  and 
which  is  very  trying  to  those  of  sensitive 
nerves.  In  screw-steamers,  the  inside  rooms, 
as  they  are  called,  if  of  good  size,  are  often 
3 


26  ON   SEA-SICKNESS. 

to  be  preferred  to  the  outside  ones,  on  ac- 
count of  ventilation,  as  there  is  very  little 
weather,  except  in  remarkable  summer 
passages,  when  the  port-holes  can  be  kept 
open,  while  the  windows  of  the  inside  room 
open  on  deck,  and  can  generally  be  kept 
open.  As  the  air  draws  down  the  gangway, 
the  nearer  the  gangway  the  better  the  ven- 
tilation. 

The  following  suggestions  for  the  pre- 
vention of  sea-sickness  were  first  written 
out  some  years  ago  for  a  gentleman  whose 
business  required  him  to  cross  the  Atlantic 
often,  and  who  was  always  kept  in  his  room 
by  severe  sea-sickness  during  the  whole 
voyage.  By  implicitly  following  the  direc- 
tions given,  he  has  suffered  very  little  from 
sickness,  and  has  been  able  to  go  on  deck 
by  the  second  or  third  day,  and  has  been 
entirely  exempt  from  sickness  for  the  re- 
mainder of  the  voyage.  They  have  since 
been  copied  many  times,  and  their  value 
thoroughly  tested.  The  trouble,  however. 


ON   SEA-SICKNESS.  27 

is,  that  most  persons  do  not  appreciate  how 
much  easier  it  is  to  prevent  sea-sickness 
than  to  cure  it ;  and  so,  none  but  those  who 
have  before  suffered  will  thoroughly  carry 
out  the  directions,  and,  neglecting  some  of 
them,  are  disappointed  in  the  results : 

1.  Have  every  preparation  made  at  least 
twenty-four  hours  before  starting,  so  that 
the  system  may  not  be  exhausted  by  over- 
work and  want  of  sleep.     This  direction  is 
particularly  important  for  ladies. 

2.  Eat  as  hearty  a  meal  as  possible  be- 
fore going  on  board. 

3.  Go  on  board  sufficiently  early  to  ar- 
ange  such  things  as  may  be  wanted  for  the 
rst  day  or  two,  so  that  they  may  be  easy 
f   access;  then   undress   and  go   to  bed, 
•efore  the  vessel  gets  under  weigh.     The 
eglect  of  this  rule,  by  those  who  are  liable 
>  sea-sickness,  is  sure  to  be  regretted. 

4.  Eat  regularly  and  heartily,  but  with- 
it  raising  the  head  for  at  least  one  or  two 
ays.     In  this  way,  the  habit  of  digestion 


28  OK   SEA-SICKNESS. 

is  kept  up,  the  strength  is  preserved,  while 
the  system  becomes  accustomed  to  the  con- 
stant change  of  equilibrium. 

5.  On  the  first  night  out,  take  some  mild 
laxative  pills,  as,  for  example,  two  or  three 
of  the  compound  rhubarb  pills,  and  be  care- 
ful to  keep  the  bowels  open  the  remainder 
of  the  voyage. 

Most  persons  have  a  tendency  to  become 
constipated  at  sea,  although  diarrhoea  occurs 
in  a  certain  percentage.  Constipation  not 
only  results  from  sea-sickness,  but  in  turn 
aggravates  it.  The  reason  has  already  been 
given  why  cathartics  should  not  be  taken 
before  starting.  The  effervescing  laxatives, 
like  the  Seidlitz,  or  the  solution  of  the  ci- 
trate of  magnesia,  taken  in  the  morning  on 
an  empty  stomach,  are  bad  in  sea-sickness. 

6.  After  having  become  so  far  habitu- 
ated to  the  sea  as  to  be  able  to  take  your 
meals  at  the  table  and  to  go  on  deck,  never 
think   of  rising  in  the  morning  until  you 
have  eaten  something,  as  a  plate  of  oatmeal 


ON   SEA-SICKNESS.  29 

porridge,  or  a  cup  of  coffee  or  tea,  with  sea- 
biscuit  or  toast. 

7.  If  subsequently,  during  the  voyage, 
the  sea  should  become  unusually  rough,  go 
to  bed  before  getting  sick.  It  is  foolish  to 
dare  any  thing,  when  there  is  no  glory  to  be 
won,  and  something  may  be  lost. 


ON  all  the  Atlantic  steamers  in  which  I 
have  crossed,  I  have  found  the  surgeons 
to  be  educated,  intelligent,  and  thoroughly 
competent  men.  On  the  English  and  Amer- 
ican, I  can  say  this  with  great  confidence ; 
but,  on  the  German  and  French  steamers, 
I  have  not  made  the  acquaintance  of  the 
surgeon  sufficiently  to  express  so  decided  an 
opinion.  I  presume,  however,  that  the  same 
confidence  may  be  placed  in  them.  But  the 
owners  of  these  ships  only  furnish  such 
medicines  as  are  absolutely  essential,  and, 
there  being  very  little  opportunity  on  board 


30  ON   SEA-SICKNESS. 

of  a  steamer  for  pharmaceutical  prepara- 
tion, the  surgeon,  in  prescribing,  must  ne- 
cessarily have  but  little  regard  for  the  taste, 
comfort,  and  idiosyncrasies  of  those  who  are 
sick.  Besides,  great  comfort  is  attained 
in  having  a  remedy  immediately  accessible, 
as  the  patient  otherwise  might  be  obliged 
to  wait  for  hours,  because  the  surgeon  is 
engaged  with  a  fractured  limb  of  a  sailor, 
or  a  fireman,  or  some  other  passenger,  who 
has  secured  his  attendance.  Then  on  the 
Channel  and  the  Mediterranean  steamers 
there  are  no  surgeons,  and  seldom  are  any 
medicines  kept  on  board.  I  therefore  ap- 
pend a  few  prescriptions,  which  may  be 
found  useful  by  those  who,  in  previous 
voyages,  have  suffered  severely  from  sea- 
sickness, and  by  those  who  make  the  ex- 
periment for  the  first .  time.  From  the 
preceding  pages,  it  will  be  seen  that  I  en- 
tertain strong  convictions  that  much  may 
be  done  to  prevent  sea-sickness,  but  that 
I  have  no  great  confidence  in  any  medicinal 


ON   SEA-SICKNESS.  31 

agents  to  cure  this  disease.  Since  the 
publication  of  this  paper,  I  have  received 
many  letters  of  inquiry  in  regard  to  the 
value  of  Dr.  Chapman's  ice-bags,  as  a 
means  of  preventing  and  relieving  the  suf- 
fering from  sea-sickness.  I  therefore  feel 
impelled  to  say  that  some  years  since  I 
carefully  studied  the  papers  which  have  been 
written  by  Dr.  Chapman  on  this  subject, 
as  also  the  article  in  the  Westminster  Re- 
view— that  the  physiological  doctrines  on 
which  Dr.  Chapman  bases  his  practice  are, 
in  many  essential  points,  in  opposition  to  the 
opinions  of  the  most  advanced  physiologists 
of  the  present  day — and  that  in  crossing  the 
English  Channel  and  the  Atlantic  Ocean  I 
have,  in  several  instances,  seen  the  ice-bags 
thoro'ughly  tried  in  cases  of  sea-sickness, 
without  good  results.  I  have  also  been 
particularly  struck  with  the  fact  that  those 
who  have  sufficiently  convalesced  from  the 
sickness  to  get  on  deck,  have  instinctively 
sought  the  position  by  which  their  backs 


32  ON   SEA-SICKNESS. 

would  be  nearest  in  contact  with  the  warm 
smoke-stacks,  and  have  apparently  found 
comfort  in  so  doing.  The  author  is  aware 
that  several  cases  have  been  reported,  in 
which  the  ice-bags  have  apparently  been  of 
great  service,  but  none  such  have  occurred 
under  his  own  observation. 

The  few  prescriptions  which  I  add  are 
those  which  I  have  found  useful  in  relieving 
symptoms,  and  may  be  conveniently  carried : 

LAXATIVE   PILLS. 

5.    Pulv.  Khei.  (Turk.),  3  ss. 

Ext.  Hyoscyami,  3j. 

Pulv.  Aloes  Soc., 

Sapo  Oast.,  aa  gr.  xv. 

Ext.  Nux  Vomicas  Alcoh.,  gr.  x. 

Podopliyllin  p.,  gr.  v.  • 

Ipecac.,  gr.  ij. 

M.    ft.  pil,  (argent)  No.  20. 
S.      Dose — one,  two,  or  three. 

For  most  persons  two  pills  will  be  suffi- 
cient to  take  the  first  night  at  sea,  and  after- 


O^T   SEA-SICKNESS.  S3 

ward,  when  a  laxative  is  necessary,  one  is 
ordinarily  all  that  will  be  required. 

In  some,  while  at  sea,  there  is  a  tendency 
to  diarrhoea  instead  of  constipation,  and  the 
following  will  be  found  a  useful  medicine  in 
controlling  this  symptom.  It  may  also  be 
found  of  service  when  travelling  on  land 
and  exposed  to  the  ills  which  result  from 
change  of  diet,  bad  water,  etc.  The  dose 
given  is  for  an  adult.  For  a  child,  one  year 
old,  ten  drops ;  two  years,  fifteen  drops,  and 
so  on.  The  medicine  may  be  put  up  where- 
ever  an  English  druggist  (or  chemist  as  he 
is  called  in  Europe)  is  found,  as  in  most  of 
the  large  towns  on  the  Continent : 

3J  •    Tinct.  Camphorse,  3  vj. 

Tinct.  Capsici,  3  ij- 
Spts.  Lavendul.  Oomp., 

Tinct.  Opii,  aa    f  ss. 

Syr.  Simp.,  §  ij. 

M.  S.  A  small  teaspoonful  in  a  wineglass  of 
water  after  each  movement. 


34:  ON    SEA-SICKNESS. 

In  cases  where  the  sickness  has  been  pro- 
longed for  several  days,  the  patient  suffering 
from  constant  nausea,  great  nervous  depres- 
sion, and  sleeplessness,  I  have  found  great 
benefit  from  the  following  powders : 

1$.    Potass.  Bromide,  f  j. 

Div.  in  Chart  tfo.  20. 
S.     One  two  or  three  times  a  day. 

These  powders  are  best  taken  in  a  half- 
tumbler  of  carbonic-acid  water  (ordinarily 
called  soda-water),  or,  if  this  cannot  be  ob- 
tained, in  a  half-tumbler  of  iced  sugar-and- 
water.  This  should  be  sipped  down  slowly, 
so  that  the  stomach  may  be  persuaded  to 
retain  and  absorb  it.  I  have  often  known 
one  powder,  taken  at  bedtime,  secure  a  night 
of  good  refreshing  sleep.  The  powders 
should  be  kept  in  a  tin  box,  or  in  a  wide- 
mouthed  phial. 

Those  who  are  confined  to  their  berths 
for  several  days  often  suffer  from  local  pains, 
cramps,  "  stitches  in  the  sides,"  and  some- 


ON   SEA-SICKNESS.  35 

times  colics.  These  pains  are  often  relieved 
by  the  use  of  the  following  liniment,  which 
is.  to  be  applied  (not  by  rubbing),  but  by 
thoroughly  saturating  a  double  thickness  of 
flannel,  and  laying  it  directly  over  the  seat 
of  pain,  and  then  covering  the  flannel  with 
the  clothing  to  prevent  evaporation.  The 
liniment  at  first  causes  a  sensation  of  cold- 
ness, then  of  great  heat,  and  soon  after  it 
gives  a  feeling  of  great  relief.  The  flannel 
may  again  be  wet  with  the  liniment,  as  often 
as  may  be  necessary,  avoiding  such  a  con- 
tinued use  as  to  cause  a  blister : 

]J .    Lint.  Sapo  Comp.,     f  vj. 
Chloroform,  |j. 

M.  S.  Chloroform  Liniment. 

Counter-irritation  over  the  pit  of  the 
stomach,  is  often  very  serviceable  in  reliev 
ing  the  nausea  and  vomiting,  and  so  it  is 
well  for  those  who  are  about  to  make  a  voy-  . 
age,  to  provide  themselves  with  the  article, 
now  generally  kept  by  druggists,  and  known 


36  ON   SEA-SIOK^ESS. 

as  "mustard-leaves."  Any  size  required 
can  be  cut  off,  and,  by  simply  wetting  it,  a 
mustard-plaster  is  ready  at  once. 

I  would  strongly  recommend  those  lia- 
ble to  sea-sickness  to  provide  themselves 
with  the  above  prescriptions,  as  they  may 
give  very  considerable  comfort  and  relief,  at 
a  very  trifling  expense. 


THE   EOT). 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

BIOLOGY  LIBRARY 

TEL.  NO.  642-2532 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


**>iect  to 


LD21A-6m-9,'73 


General  Lib' 


